Burner apparatus and methods for making inorganic fibers

ABSTRACT

Inorganic fiber production burner apparatus and methods of use are disclosed. One burner includes a refractory block adapted to be in fluid connection with sources of primary oxidant and fuel, the refractory block having a fuel and primary oxidant entrance end and a flame exit end, the flame exit end having a substantially rectangular flame exit having a width greater than its height, the refractory block defining a combustion chamber and a second chamber fluidly connecting the combustion chamber and the flame exit end; and an oxygen manifold fluidly connected to the combustion chamber and adapted to route oxygen to the combustion chamber through a plurality of passages through the refractory block. This abstract allows a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure. It will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of combustionburners and methods of use, and more specifically to burners and methodsof use in flame attenuation fiberization processes producing inorganicmicrofibers and other fibers.

2. Related Art

One process for manufacturing fine diameter mineral fibers, e.g.discrete length, glass fibers typically ranging from about 0.2 micronsto about 7.0 microns in diameter, is the flame attenuation process. Inthis process, an electrically or gas flame heated pot or meltercontaining a molten fiberizable material such as glass batch materialsor preformed marbles are melted and drawn from a plurality of outletorifices of a bushing to form continuous primary filaments. The primarycontinuous filaments are drawn from the heated pot or melter by pullrolls which also function to feed the continuous primary filaments intoa high temperature, high energy, gas flame that further attenuates thecontinuous primary filaments and forms short length, fine diameterfibers from the continuous primary filaments. These attenuating burnershave extremely high gas flow rates in order to stretch the filamentswhile they are heated so as to reduce their diameter.

Energy costs continue to increase, spurring efforts to find ways toreduce the amount of fuel in mineral fiber manufacturing. The highvelocity attenuation blast entrains cooler air from its surroundings.This low energy, low velocity air is mixed with the attenuation streamthereby diluting it and reducing both its temperature and velocity. Thecapability of the attenuating apparatus to reduce fiber diameter (i.e.,to improve the filtration properties or insulating capabilities of thematerial) is hampered by this unrestricted stream dilution. To offsetthe disadvantages of dilution, more gas must be burned to produce highertemperatures.

Oxy-fuel burners have been used for many years in the glass industry ingeneral especially in the fiberglass, TV glass, and container glassindustry segments. There are few complete oxy-fuel fired float furnacesin the operation today and they have been using retrofit oxy-fuelburners designed specifically for smaller container or fiberglassfurnaces. These conversions were most likely made to meet emissionsstandards. Known oxy-fuel burners are predominately nozzle mix designsand avoid premixing for safety reasons due to the increased reactivityof using oxygen as the oxidant versus air. Some common designs of nozzlemix oxy-fuel burners are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,199,866;5,490,775; and 5,449,286. The concept of nozzle mix oxy-fuel burners isto mix fuel and oxygen at the burner nozzle. These burners can includesingle or multiple nozzles for fuel and/or oxygen. The flame produced isa diffusion flame with the flame characteristics determined by mixingrates. Short intense flames are most common with these burners, howeversome delayed mixing geometry are considered to generate longer luminousflames. Another more recent burner type used in the glass industry formelting applications is the “flat flame” burner. These are multi-orificeburners with various geometries that can produce a flame that is 2 to 3times wider than a traditional (cylindrical) oxy-fuel flame. U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,545,031; 5,360,171; 5,299,929; and 5,575,637 show examples offlat flame burners.

Oxy-fuel burners have not been proposed for use in glass re-meltfiberization applications. This may be due to any of a variety offactors. Not only are the fields of use quite different, but the natureof the molten material and fibers to be produced, and equipment beingdifferent (fibers vs. large pools of molten material, usage of burnersto attenuate fibers vs. usage of burners for melting) leads to verydifferent problems to be solved, despite the fact that decreased energyusage is a common goal of many industries, including both the floatglass and mineral fiber industries. As the end use of mineral fibersdepends on the physical properties of the fibers, such as their abilityto be dispersed in liquids and slurries, or their ability to function asfilter media or insulation, producers are careful not to change aprocess that produces acceptable fibers for a small decrease in energyconsumption.

Because of this it would be an advance in the mineral fiberization artto develop re-melt fiberization burners to attenuate mineral fibers,reduce energy requirements a significant amount in mineral fiberizationprocesses to make their implementation attractive, particularly insituations where the fiber physical properties are acceptable, or evenbetter than acceptable, in terms of higher quality fibers and productsemploying the fibers, such as filtration and insulation products, andpaper products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, apparatus and processes of useare described that reduce energy usage, as well as unexpectedly producebetter quality fibers than previously known fiberization apparatus andmethods. By controlling one or more operating parameters of afiberization burner, either through heat recovery, use ofoxygen-enriched oxidants, or both, apparatus and processes of theinvention allow production of inorganic fibers having greater averagestrength and length while reducing or eliminating shot compared toconventional burners that do not use heat recovery or oxygen-enrichedoxidants. In certain embodiments, for example when oxygen is notavailable, or available but too expensive, processes and systems aredescribed employing preheating air and/or fuel with auxiliary heatsources such as electrical resistance elements, coal-fired high pressuresteam, and the like. One goal of processes and systems of the inventionis to elevate the combustion gas temperature, or flame temperature,leaving the burner. Energy economics may dictate using thesealternatives in lieu of oxygen. When an oxygen-enriched oxidant isemployed, heat recovery techniques may also be used as the oxy-fuelflame temperatures are higher than air-fuel flame temperatures.

A first aspect of the invention is a burner apparatus, the apparatuscomprising:

-   -   a refractory block adapted to be in fluid connection with        sources of primary oxidant and fuel, the refractory block having        a fuel and primary oxidant entrance end and a flame exit end,        the flame exit end having a substantially rectangular flame exit        having a width greater than its height, the refractory block        defining a combustion chamber and a second chamber fluidly        connecting the combustion chamber and the flame exit end; and    -   an oxygen manifold fluidly connected to the combustion chamber        and adapted to route oxygen to the combustion chamber through a        plurality of passages through the refractory block.

As used herein the term “primary oxidant” means air, or compositionscomprising the same molar concentration of oxygen as air, while theterms “oxygen” and “secondary oxidant” are used interchangeably,according to the present invention, and mean a gas with an oxygen molarconcentration of at least 50%. Such oxidants include oxygen-enriched aircontaining at least 50% vol., oxygen such as “industrially” pure oxygen(99.5%) produced by a cryogenic air separation plant or non-pure oxygenproduced by e.g. a vacuum swing adsorption process or membranepermeation (about 90% vol. O₂ or more). Apparatus embodiments withinthis aspect if the invention may include a plurality of tubesfunctioning to route the oxygen through the refractory block, the tubesfluidly connected to one or more oxygen supply manifolds. Both the tubesand the manifolds may be comprised of metal, ceramic, ceramic-linedmetal, or combination thereof.

In all apparatus embodiments of the invention the sources of primaryoxidant and fuel may be one or more conduits, pipelines, storagefacility, cylinders, or, in the case of primary oxidant, ambient air.Secondary oxidant may be supplied from a pipeline, cylinder, storagefacility, cryogenic air separation unit, membrane permeation separator,or adsorption unit such as a vacuum swing adsorption unit.

A second apparatus aspect of the invention comprises:

-   -   a refractory block as in the first aspect of the invention; and    -   an oxygen injection manifold fluidly connecting the sources of        primary oxidant and fuel and the refractory block, the oxygen        injection manifold comprising one or more oxygen manifolds        exposed to the combustion chamber and fluidly connecting a        source of oxygen and the fuel and primary oxidant end of the        refractory block, and further comprising means for supplying a        coolant (gas, liquid, or combination thereof) to cool the oxygen        manifolds during combustion and means for collecting a warmed        coolant. The coolant may be any heat transfer fluid and may be        any gaseous, liquid, or some combination of gaseous and liquid        composition that functions or is capable of being modified to        function as a heat transfer fluid. Gaseous heat transfer fluids        may be selected from air, including ambient air and treated air        (for air treated to remove moisture), inert inorganic gases,        such as nitrogen, argon, and helium, inert organic gases such as        fluoro-, chloro- and chlorofluorocarbons, including        perfluorinated versions, such as tetrafluoromethane, and        hexafluoroethane, and tetrafluoroethylene, and the like, and        mixtures of inert gases with small portions of non-inert gases,        such as hydrogen. Heat transfer liquids may be selected from        inert liquids which may be organic, inorganic, or some        combination thereof, for example, salt solutions, glycol        solutions, oils and the like. Other possible heat transfer        fluids include steam (if cooler than the oxygen manifold        temperature), carbon dioxide, or mixtures thereof with nitrogen.        Heat transfer fluids may be compositions comprising both gas and        liquid phases, such as the higher chlorofluorocarbons.

Apparatus embodiments in accordance with this aspect of the inventioninclude those embodiments wherein the one or more oxygen manifoldscomprises an upper oxygen manifold adapted to direct oxygen downwardinto the flow path of fuel and primary oxidant, and a lower oxygenmanifold adapted to direct oxygen upward into the path. The oxygenmanifolds may be metallic or ceramic tubes having a plurality of holesfor directing oxygen into the flow path of fuel and primary oxidant. Themeans for supplying a coolant to cool the oxygen manifolds duringcombustion and the means for collecting a warmed coolant may beconduits, tubes, hoses or their equivalent, such as stainless steel orceramic tubes or pipes, or rubber hoses.

A third aspect of the invention is a burner apparatus, comprising:

-   -   a plurality of oxygen conduits in a first horizontal plane        having inlet ends and outlet ends, the inlet ends fluidly        connected to a source of oxygen, and the outlet ends fluidly        connected to an entrance to a refractory slot;    -   a plurality of fuel conduits in a second horizontal plane below        the first plane and substantially parallel thereto, the        plurality of fuel conduits having inlet ends and outlet ends,        the inlet ends fluidly connected to a source of fuel, and the        outlet ends fluidly connected to the entrance to the refractory        slot;    -   wherein the refractory slot defines a recess wherein the ends of        the oxygen conduits and the ends of the fuel conduits are        recessed from an exit of the refractory slot, and the plurality        of oxygen conduits and the plurality of fuel conduits are        adapted to disperse the fuel and the oxygen uniformly and begin        combusting the fuel in the refractory slot, the refractory slot        is adapted to direct a flame toward primary fibers to be        fiberized.

Apparatus within this aspect of the invention include those wherein theratio of number of oxygen conduits to fuel conduits may range from about1 to about 5, or from about 2 to about 4, and wherein the oxygenconduits may all be circular in cross-section and have the samediameter, and wherein the fuel conduits may all be circular and have thesame diameter. Other apparatus within this embodiment include thosewherein the oxygen conduits are all equal in length, and all fuelconduits are equal in length. Other apparatus within this embodimentinclude those wherein the recess defined by the refractory chute has awidth W, a depth D, and a height H within the following ranges: W/Hranges from about 10 to about 100, or from about 15 to about 80, and W/Dranges from about 4 to about 12, or from about 6 to about 10. Otherembodiments include those wherein the ratio of length of oxygen conduitsand fuel conduits to depth of recess D ranges from about 5 to about 10.

A fourth aspect of the invention are methods, comprising:

-   -   a) providing a supply of a primary oxidant fluid stream to a        refractory burner block;    -   b) providing a supply of a fuel fluid stream to the burner        block;    -   c) mixing the primary oxidant with the fuel to form an        intermediate mixture, the intermediate mixture flowing into a        combustion chamber defined by the burner block;    -   d) injecting an oxygen stream into the intermediate mixture to        form a combustion mixture;    -   e) combusting the fuel fluid in the combustion chamber to form a        flame;    -   f) forcing the flame through a slot exit from the refractory        burner block to form a substantially flat flame;    -   g) directing the substantially flat flame to intersect a primary        fiber; and    -   h) attenuating and fiberizing the primary fiber to form a        plurality of fibers.

Methods within this aspect include those embodiments wherein the primaryoxidant is air, the fuel is a gaseous fuel, the gaseous fuel selectedfrom methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, steam-reformed natural gas, atomized oil or mixturesthereof, and the oxygen stream comprises at least 90 mole percentoxygen. In certain apparatus the oxygen may be injected into theintermediate mixture upstream of the combustion chamber, while in otherembodiments the oxygen may be injected into the combustion chamber. Theoxygen injection velocity may be 200 ft/sec or less at a flow rateranging from 0 to about 400 scfh, and may be injected through anon-cooled manifold, a gas-cooled manifold, or a liquid-cooled manifold.The gas-cooled manifold may utilize air as a coolant gas, while theliquid-cooled manifold may use water as a coolant. Methods of theinvention include those wherein the combustion chamber pressure does notexceed 10 psig.

Another aspect of the invention are methods comprising:

-   -   a) providing a supply of a primary oxidant fluid stream to a        refractory burner block;    -   b) providing a supply of oxygen fluid stream to the burner        block;    -   c) mixing the primary oxidant with the oxygen to form an        intermediate mixture, the intermediate mixture flowing to a        combustion chamber defined by the burner block;    -   d) injecting a fuel fluid stream into the intermediate mixture        to form a combustion mixture;    -   e) combusting the fuel fluid in the combustion chamber to form a        flame;    -   f) forcing the flame through a slot exit from the refractory        burner block to form a substantially flat flame;    -   g) directing the substantially flat flame to intersect a primary        fiber; and    -   h) attenuating and fiberizing the primary fiber to form a        plurality of fibers.

Methods within this aspect include those embodiments wherein the primaryoxidant is air, the fuel is a gaseous fuel, the gaseous fuel selectedfrom methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, steam-reformed natural gas, atomized oil or mixturesthereof, and the oxygen stream comprises at least 90 mole percentoxygen. In certain apparatus the fuel may be injected into theintermediate mixture upstream of the combustion chamber, while in otherembodiments the fuel may be injected into the combustion chamber. Thefuel may be injected through a non-cooled manifold, a gas-cooledmanifold, or a liquid-cooled manifold. The gas-cooled manifold mayutilize air as a coolant gas, while the liquid-cooled manifold may usewater as a coolant. Methods of the invention include those wherein thecombustion chamber pressure does not exceed 10 psig.

Another method of the invention comprises:

-   -   a) flowing oxygen through a plurality of oxygen conduits in a        first horizontal plane having inlet ends and outlet ends, the        inlet ends fluidly connected to a source of oxygen, and the        outlet ends fluidly connected to an entrance to a refractory        slot;    -   b) flowing a fuel fluid through a plurality of fuel conduits in        a second horizontal plane below the first plane and        substantially parallel thereto, the plurality of fuel conduits        having inlet ends and outlet ends, the inlet ends fluidly        connected to a source of fuel, and the outlet ends fluidly        connected to the entrance to the refractory slot;    -   c) combusting the fuel in the refractory slot to form a        substantially flat flame, the refractory slot defining a recess        wherein the ends of the oxygen conduits and the ends of the fuel        conduits are recessed from an exit of the refractory slot, the        plurality of oxygen conduits and the plurality of fuel conduits        dispersing the fuel and the oxygen uniformly in the recess; and    -   d) directing the substantially flat flame to intersect a primary        fiber; and    -   e) attenuating and fiberizing the primary fiber to form a        plurality of fibers.

All apparatus and method embodiments of the invention may be controlledby one or more controllers. For example, fiberization burner flametemperature may be controlled by monitoring one or more parametersselected from velocity of the fuel, velocity of the primary oxidant,mass flow rate of the fuel, mass flow rate of the primary oxidant,energy content of the fuel, temperature of the fuel as it enters theburner, temperature of the primary oxidant as it enters the burner,temperature of the effluent, pressure of the primary oxidant enteringthe burner, humidity of the oxidant, burner geometry, combustion ratio,and combinations thereof. Exemplary apparatus and methods of theinvention comprise a combustion controller which receives one or moreinput parameters selected from velocity of the fuel, velocity of theprimary oxidant, mass flow rate of the fuel, mass flow rate of theprimary oxidant, energy content of the fuel, temperature of the fuel asit enters the burner, temperature of the primary oxidant as it entersthe burner, pressure of the oxidant entering the burner, humidity of theoxidant, burner geometry, oxidation ratio, temperature of the effluentand combinations thereof, and employs a control algorithm to controlcombustion temperature based on one or more of these input parameters.

Apparatus and methods of the invention will become more apparent uponreview of the brief description of the drawings, the detaileddescription of the invention, and the claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The manner in which the objectives of the invention and other desirablecharacteristics can be obtained is explained in the followingdescription and attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 a perspective view of a prior art fiberization burner;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fiberization burner of FIG. 1modified to include non-cooled secondary oxidant injection;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the burner of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the fiberization burner of FIG. 1modified to include a gas-cooled injector that may be used to injectsecondary oxidant or, with modification, fuel;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along 5-5 of the gas-cooledinjector of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the fiberization burner of FIG. 1modified to include a liquid-cooled injector that may be used to injectsecondary oxidant or, with modification, fuel;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along 7-7 of the liquid-cooledinjector of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a nozzle mix fuel/oxidant burner of theinvention;

FIG. 9 is an end elevation view of the burner of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the burner of FIGS. 8 and 9 topoint out certain physical dimensions of the burner; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a combustion process controlscheme useful in the invention

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings are not to scaleand illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention, and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the inventionmay admit to other equally effective embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of the present invention. However, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without these details and that numerous variations ormodifications from the described embodiments may be possible.

The invention describes inorganic material fiberization burner apparatusand methods of using same. Although the invention is not limited toso-called “microfiber” production processes and systems, it is helpfulto define the term as a starting point. As used herein, “microfibers”are defined as fibers having a mean diameter ranging from about 0.05 toabout 3.5 micrometers, more typically from about 0.1 to about 1.0micrometers. Microfibers produced by processes and systems of theinvention may have a length to diameter ratio of at least about 5:1 andmore usually from about 3000:1 to about 10:1. The length to diameterratio of the microfibers most often averages from about 10:1 to about2000:1. The average length and diameter of the microfibers can becontrolled by controlling the combustion process, and secondarily by thecomposition and flow rate of the molten inorganic material beingfiberized. Generally, microfibers produced using processes and systemsof the invention have an average length of less than about 0.05 inches.Normally, the microfibers have an average length ranging from about 1 toabout 500 micrometers, more usually ranging from about 10 to about 300micrometers, and most often the fiber length averages from about 25 toabout 50 micrometers. Procedures for determining the average diametersand lengths of particular batches of microfibers are well known to thoseskilled in the art and need not be repeated.

“Fiberization” is used as a verb unless otherwise noted, and meansforming short fibers, which may or may not be microfibers, from aprimary, relatively continuous fiber using a hot blast process modifiedin accordance with the invention, where hot combustion gases attenuatethe primary fiber, and aspirated air is used to cool the attenuatedfibers and cause the attenuated primary fibers to break into short,staple fibers.

Given that safety, decreased energy consumption, production capacity,and fiber physical properties are primary concerns, and that there isconsiderable investment in existing equipment, it would be an advance inthe art if existing fiberization burners and methods could be modifiedto increase safety, energy efficiency, productivity, and productquality, or new burners designed for these purposes whose capital outlaywould be returned quickly through energy efficiency and increased salesof product. This invention offers burner apparatus and methods for thesepurposes.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with partsbroken away to show the interior, of a prior art fiberization burner150, having a stainless steel or other metallic shell 152, a refractoryburner block 154 defining a burner slot 156 and a combustion chamber158. An air-fuel mix manifold, 160 and 162 routes air and fuel,typically natural gas, to the combustion chamber 158. Manifold 160 and162 is mounted to burner block 154 through mounting holes 164 (fourtypically) through flange 166.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, ofthe fiberization burner of FIG. 1 modified to include non-cooled oxygeninjection in accordance with one burner of the present invention. Burner170 includes two oxygen manifolds 172 and 174, which may be stainlesssteel pipe or other alloy pipe, or ceramic tubes, each having a seriesof holes therein for accepting a corresponding number of ceramic tubes176 through which oxygen is charged into combustion chamber 158.

In operation of fiberization burners of the invention, inorganic primaryfibers are directed by means of guides and rollers into the flameproduced by the fiberization burner. The mass flow rate of the inorganicmaterial, for example glass, is a function of the primary fiberdiameter, the flame temperature of the burner, the burner geometry, forexample slot size of the burner, the pressure in the burner, and theproduct code fiber diameter. The process operating conditions aregenerally not independent values but have some degree of interaction.Oxygen-enhanced oxidant/fuel fiberization is markedly different than thetraditional air-fuel fiberization process. The general principle is tooperate combustion in the burner in a manner that replaces some of theair with a separate source of oxygen. The overall combustion ratio maynot change. The process of combining fuel and oxygen-enriched oxidantwill occur in the burner combustion chamber after the gases have passedover the flame arrestor safety device. The flame temperature of thecombustion gases can be controlled by varying the air to oxygen ratio inof the oxidant. In accordance with the systems and processes of theinvention, a standard burner firing 1600 scfh of natural gas, from 0 toabout 400 scfh of oxygen may be safely injected into the burner inconjunction with an appropriate air flow.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the fiberization burner of FIG. 1modified to include a gas-cooled injector that may be used to injectsecondary oxidant or, with modification, fuel. FIG. 5 is across-sectional view, taken along section 5-5 in FIG. 4, of an injector1000 useful in burner 900. Burner 900 includes the metallic shell 152,refractory burner block 154, 156, and air-fuel mix manifold 160 and 162of prior art burner embodiment 150 of FIG. 1, and in addition includesan injector 1000 comprising a metallic rectangular outer tube 180 and asimilar but smaller rectangular tube 184 positioned inside of outerrectangular tube 180, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Inner rectangular tube180 and inner rectangular tube 184 define a volume through which acooling gas may enter through inlets 188 and 189, and exit throughoutlets 190 and 191. Fuel or secondary oxidant may be injected throughmanifolds 181 and 182, which may be stainless steel or other alloy metaltubes. A plurality of holes 186 may be positioned uniformly near thebottom of tube 181 and top of tube 182 to inject fuel or secondaryoxidant. Since tubes 181 and 182 are exposed to hot combustion gases,cooling is provided. Bolts or other fasteners 192 may be used to fasteninjector 1200 in burner 1100. More or mess than two gas coolant inletsand outlets may be provided in other embodiments as desired, and thesealternative embodiments are considered within the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the fiberization burner of FIG. 1modified to include a liquid-cooled injector that may be used to injectsecondary oxidant or, with modification, fuel. FIG. 7 a cross-sectionalview, taken along section 7-7 in FIG. 6, of a liquid-cooled injector1200 used in burner 1110. Burner 1100 and injector 1200 are similar toburner 900 and gas-cooled injector 1000 of FIGS. 4 and 5, except thatfor liquid ingress and egress only one inlet and one outlet need beprovided. Embodiments employing more than one liquid coolant inlet andmore than one liquid coolant outlet are considered within the invention,but may not be necessary in all circumstances due to better cooling ofthe liquid.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a nozzle mix fuel/oxidant burner 1300 useful inthe invention, and FIG. 9 is an end elevation view of the burner of FIG.8. In burner 1300, oxygen-enriched oxidant and fuel are directed to flowthrough separate pluralities of tubes 206 and 207, respectively, endingin separate nozzles 214. An oxygen-enriched oxidant inlet 202 supplies achamber or manifold 204 which then feed tubes 206. Similarly, fuel inlet210 supplies a fuel chamber or manifold 212, which directs fuel throughtubes 207. Fuel is then combusted at nozzles 214. The combustion productgases are directed through a slot defined by a refractory spacer 208,and then at the inorganic primary fibers for fiberization. The number oftubes oxidant 206 and fuel tubes 207 may vary widely, but generally thenumber of oxidant tubes ranges from about 50 to about 150, while thenumber of fuel tubes 207 may range from about 25 to about 75. The lengthof the tubes may range from about, 3 to about 10 inches, while thediameter may range from about 1/32 inch up to 0.5 inch. The ratio ofnumber of oxygen conduits to fuel conduits may range from about 1 toabout 5, or from about 2 to about 4, and the oxygen conduits may all becircular in cross-section and have the same diameter; similarly, thefuel conduits may all be circular and have the same diameter. FIG. 10illustrates schematically some physical dimensions that the burnerapparatus of FIGS. 8 and 9 may have. Apparatus within this embodimentinclude those wherein the oxygen conduits may all be equal in lengthL_(ox) and all fuel conduits may be equal in length L_(f), although theinvention is not so limited. Other apparatus within this embodimentinclude those wherein the recess defined by the refractory slot has awidth W, a depth D, and a height H within the following ranges: W/H mayrange from about 10 to about 100, or from about 15 to about 80, and W/Dmay range from about 4 to about 12, or from about 6 to about 10. Otherembodiments includes those wherein the ratio of length of oxygen tubesL_(ox) and fuel tubes L_(f) to depth of recess D ranges from about 5 toabout 10. The spacing between tubes may be uniform and equal to or lessthan about one tube diameter. In certain embodiments the fuel conduitsmay be arranged side-by-side in touching arrangement in a plane, and theoxygen conduits may be arranged side-by-side in touching arrangement ina different plane. The fuel and oxygen conduits may touch each other.The fuel and oxidant conduits may be comprised of stainless steel orother alloy. As may be seen schematically in FIG. 9, this particularburner configuration provides a similar effect as a premix slot typeburner in producing a wide, flat flame for fiberization.

According to the present invention, the fuel and the oxidant areintroduced in the burner either through separate tubes in the burnerassembly, or are premixed. The term “fuel”, according to this invention,means a combustible composition comprising a major portion of, forexample, methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, atomizedoil or the like (either in gaseous or liquid form). Fuels useful in theinvention may comprise minor amounts of non-fuels therein, includingoxidants, for purposes such as premixing the fuel with the oxidant, oratomizing liquid fuels.

The total quantities of fuel and oxidant used by the combustion systemare such that the flow of oxygen may range from about 0.9 to about 1.2of the theoretical stoichiometric flow of oxygen necessary to obtain thecomplete combustion of the fuel flow. Another expression of thisstatement is that the combustion ratio is between 0.9 and 1.2.

The velocity of the fuel gas in the various burners depends on theburner geometry used, but generally is at least about 15 m/s. The upperlimit of fuel velocity depends primarily on the desired attenuated fibergeometry and the geometry of the burner; if the fuel velocity is toolow, the flame temperature may be too low, providing in adequatefiberization, which is not desired, and if the fuel flow is too high,flame might impinge on downstream equipment, or be wasted, which is alsonot desired.

Additionally, the invention also provides stabilization of the flamewith an auxiliary injection of fuel and/or oxidant gases. Injection ofthe oxidant fluid may be made by premix of fuel and primary oxidant,usually air, and in addition secondary oxidant injection, using either anon-cooled injector, a gas-cooled injector, or a liquid-cooled injector,as explained in reference to the figures. When injecting secondaryoxidant such as industrial oxygen in a gas-cooled or liquid-cooledburner, the hole diameter 186 (FIG. 5) or tube 176 diameter in anon-cooled injector (FIG. 2) maybe such that the secondary oxidantvelocity does not exceed about 200 ft/sec at 400 scfh flow rate. Theinternal pressure of the burner should not exceed about 10 psig.

Apparatus and methods of the present invention are intended to be used,for example, to replace air-fuel combustion burners in already existingfiberization processes, and/or to be used as the main source of energyin new fiberization burners.

Suitable materials for the refractory block in the burners are fusedzirconia (ZrO₂), fused cast AZS (alumina-zirconia-silica), rebonded AZS,or fused cast alumina (Al₂O₃). The choice of a particular material isdictated among other parameters by the chemistry and type of inorganicfibers to be produced.

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of one non-limiting combustionprocess control scheme in accordance with the invention. A mastercontroller 78 is shown, but the invention is not so limited, as anycombination of controllers could be used. The controller may be selectedfrom PI controllers, PID controllers (including any known or reasonablyforeseeable variations of these), and computes a residual equal to adifference between a measured value and a set point to produce an outputto one or more control elements. The controller may compute the residualcontinuously or non-continuously. Other possible implementations of theinvention are those wherein the controller comprises more specializedcontrol strategies, such as strategies selected from feed forward,cascade control, internal feedback loops, model predictive control,neural networks, and Kalman filtering techniques. In FIG. 11, the linesand boxes numbered 80-87 may represent sensors, for example sensors forthe following parameters, which are merely exemplary examples:

80=V_(fuel), velocity of fuel entering burner;

81=V_(PO), velocity of primary oxidant entering burner;

82=V_(SO), velocity of secondary oxidant entering burner;

83=M_(fuel), mass flow rate of fuel entering burner;

84=M_(PO), mass flow rate of primary oxidant entering burner;

85=T_(fuel), temperature of fuel entering burner;

87=T_(PO), temperature of primary oxidant entering burner;

88=P_(PO), pressure of primary oxidant entering burner;

89=H_(PO); humidity of primary oxidant.

The lines and boxes numbered 88-95 may represent control signals andactuators, respectively, for outputs for the following parameters, whichare merely exemplary:

88=V_(fuel), velocity of fuel entering burner;

89=V_(PO), velocity of primary oxidant entering burner;

90=M_(fuel), mass flow rate of fuel entering burner;

91=M_(SO), mass flow rate of secondary oxidant entering burner;

92=T_(fuel), temperature of fuel entering burner;

93=T_(PO), temperature of primary oxidant entering burner;

94=P_(SO), pressure of secondary oxidant entering burner;

95=M_(EFF) (or M_(HTF)), mass flow rate of hot effluent (or heattransfer fluid).

Other parameters may be included as inputs, such as desired fiberdiameter and/or length 96, burner geometry 97, and combustion ratio 98.

The term “control”, used as a transitive verb, means to verify orregulate by comparing with a standard or desired value. Control may beclosed loop, feedback, feed-forward, cascade, model predictive,adaptive, heuristic and combinations thereof. The term “controller”means a device at least capable of accepting input from sensors andmeters in real time or near-real time, and sending commands directly toburner control elements, and/or to local devices associated with burnercontrol elements able to accept commands. A controller may also becapable of accepting input from human operators; accessing databases,such as relational databases; sending data to and accessing data indatabases, data warehouses or data marts; and sending information to andaccepting input from a display device readable by a human. A controllermay also interface with or have integrated therewith one or moresoftware application modules, and may supervise interaction betweendatabases and one or more software application modules.

The phrase “PID controller” means a controller using proportional,integral, and derivative features. In some cases the derivative mode maynot be used or its influence reduced significantly so that thecontroller may be deemed a PI controller. It will also be recognized bythose of skill in the control art that there are existing variations ofPI and PID controllers, depending on how the discretization isperformed. These known and foreseeable variations of PI, PID and othercontrollers are considered within the invention.

Controllers useful in the systems and methods of the invention may varyin their details. One PID controller useful in the invention may beexpressed mathematically as in Equation 1:

u(t)Kp [e(t)+1/Ti·∫e(t)dt+Td·è(t)]  (1)

wherein:

∫ means integrate;

è(t) means the time derivative;

u(t) is controller output, which may be burner flame temperature, forexample;

e(t) means difference between a desired and measured (real time) value;

Td is a constant for describing the derivative part of the algorithm(the derivative part may be filtered to avoid deriving highfrequencies);

Ti is a constant for describing the integrating part of the algorithm;and

Kp is a proportional gain constant.

In the s-plane (Laplace), the PID controller may be expressed as(Equation 2):

Hr(s)=Kp [1+1/Ti s+Td s/(1+Tf s)]  (2)

wherein:

s is the variable in the s-plane; and

Tf is a constant describing the filtering part of the derivative part ofthe algorithm.

For discretization, a variety of transforms may be employed, and someconstants may or may not be useful. For example, the T_(f) constant maynot be necessary in some instances, but may be especially useful inother scenarios. As one discretization example, the z-transform may beused, meaning that the integral part of the algorithm may beapproximated by using a trapezoid model of the form (Equation 3):

s=(1−z−1)/T   (3)

while the derivative part may be approximated using an Euler model(Equation 4):

s=2/T·(1−z−1)/(1+z−1)   (4)

wherein T is the sampling time.

The resulting discrete model may then be used directly in the combustionor burner control algorithm. Other discrete models, derived using othertransforms, are useful in the invention, and will be apparent to controltechnicians or control engineers of ordinary skill.

The controller may utilize Model Predictive Control (MPC). MPC is anadvanced multivariable control method for use in multiple input/multipleoutput (MIMO) systems. An overview of industrial Model PredictiveControl can be found at: www.che.utexas.edu/˜qin/cpcv/cpcv14.html. MPCcomputes a sequence of manipulated variable adjustments in order tooptimise the future behavior of the process in question. At each controltime k, MPC solves a dynamic optimization problem using a model of thecontrolled system, so as to optimize future behavior (at time k+1, k+2 .. . k+n) over a prediction horizon n. This is again performed at timek+1, k+2.... MPC may use any derived objective function, such asQuadratic Performance Objective, and the like, including weightingfunctions of manipulated variables and measurements. Dynamics of theprocess and/or system to be controlled are described in an explicitmodel of the process and/or system, which may be obtained for example bymathematical modeling, or estimated from test data of the real processand/or system. Some techniques to determine some of the dynamics of thesystem and/or process to be controlled include step response models,impulse response models, and other linear or non-linear models. Often anaccurate model is not necessary. Input and output constraints may beincluded in the problem formulation so that future constraint violationsare anticipated and prevented, such as hard constraints, softconstraints, set point constraints, funnel constraints, return oncapital constraints, and the like. It may be difficult to explicitlystate stability of an MPC control scheme, and in certain embodiments ofthe present invention it may be necessary to use nonlinear MPC. Inso-called advanced control of variosu systems, PID control may be usedon strong mono-variable loops with few or nonproblematic interactions,while one or more networks of MPC might be used, or other multivariablecontrol structures, for strong interconnected loops. Furthermore,computing time considerations may be a limiting factor. Some embodimentsmay employ nonlinear MPC.

The feed forward algorithm, if used, will in the most general sense betask specific, meaning that it will be specially designed to the task itis designed to solve. This specific design might be difficult to design,but a lot is gained by using a more general algorithm, such as a firstor second order filter with a given gain and time constants.

In certain embodiments of the invention it may be desired to implementheat recovery. In embodiments of the invention employing a heat transferfluid for heat recovery, as discussed in Applicant's co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 11/314,437 filed concurrently herewith, it ispossible for the hot intermediate heat transfer fluid to transfer heatto the oxidant or the fuel either indirectly by transferring heatthrough the walls of a heat exchanger, or a portion of the hotintermediate fluid could exchange heat directly by mixing with theoxidant or the fuel. In most cases, the heat transfer will be moreeconomical and safer if the heat transfer is indirect, in other words byuse of a heat exchanger where the intermediate fluid does not mix withthe oxidant or the fuel, but it is important to note that both means ofexchanging heat are contemplated by the present invention. Further, theintermediate fluid could be heated by the hot flue gases by either ofthe two mechanisms just mentioned.

In certain embodiments employing heat recovery, the primary means fortransferring heat may comprise one or more heat exchangers selected fromthe group consisting of ceramic heat exchangers, known in the industryas ceramic recuperators, and metallic heat exchangers further referredto as metallic recuperators. Systems in accordance with the inventioninclude those wherein the primary means for transferring heat are doubleshell radiation recuperators. Preheater means useful in the inventioncomprise heat exchangers selected from ceramic heat exchangers, metallicheat exchangers, regenerative means alternatively heated by the flow ofhot intermediate fluid and cooled by the flow of oxidant or fuel that isheated thereby, and combinations thereof. In the case of regenerativemeans alternately heated by the flow of hot intermediate fluid andcooled by the flow of oxidant or fuel, there may be present two vesselscontaining an inert media, such as ceramic balls or pebbles. One vesselis used in a regeneration mode, wherein the ceramic balls, pebbles orother inert media are heated by hot intermediate fluid, while the otheris used during an operational mode to contact the fuel or oxidant inorder to transfer heat from the hot media to the fuel or oxidant, as thecase might be. The flow to the vessels is then switched at anappropriate time.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have beendescribed in detail above, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined inthe following claims. In the claims, no clauses are intended to be inthe means-plus-function format allowed by 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6unless “means for” is explicitly recited together with an associatedfunction. “Means for” clauses are intended to cover the structuresdescribed herein as performing the recited function and not onlystructural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.

1-8. (canceled)
 9. An apparatus comprising: a refractory block adaptedto be in fluid connection with sources of primary oxidant, oxygen, andfuel, the refractory block having a primary oxidant entrance end and aflame exit end, the flame exit end having a substantially rectangularflame exit having a width greater than its height, the refractory blockdefining a combustion chamber and a second chamber fluidly connectingthe combustion chamber and the flame exit end; and an injection manifoldfluidly connecting the source of primary oxidant and the refractoryblock, the manifold comprising one or more manifolds exposed to thecombustion chamber and fluidly connecting a source selected from asource of oxygen and a source of fuel with the primary oxidant end ofthe refractory block, and further comprising means for supplying acoolant to cool the manifolds during combustion and means for collectinga warmed coolant.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the coolant maybe any heat transfer fluid and may be any gaseous, liquid, or somecombination of gaseous and liquid composition that functions or iscapable of being modified to function as a heat transfer fluid.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10 wherein the gaseous heat transfer fluids may beselected from air, including ambient air, treated air, inert inorganicgases, inert organic gases, and mixtures of inert gases with smallportions of non-inert gases, and heat transfer liquids may be selectedfrom inert liquids which may be organic, inorganic, or some combinationthereof.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the primary oxidantentrance end is also adapted to allow the fuel to enter and mix with theprimary oxidant, and the one or more manifolds comprises an upper oxygenmanifold adapted to direct oxygen downward into a flow path of a mixtureof fuel and primary oxidant, and a lower oxygen manifold adapted todirect oxygen upward into the path.
 13. The apparatus process of claim12 wherein the oxygen manifolds comprise metallic or ceramic tubeshaving a plurality of orifices for directing oxygen into the flow pathof fuel and primary oxidant, wherein the orifices are sized so thatoxygen flows at a velocity not exceeding 200 ft/sec at a flow rate notexceeding 400 scfh.
 14. The apparatus process of claim 9 wherein themeans for supplying a coolant to cool the manifolds during combustionand the means for collecting a warmed coolant may be conduits, tubes,hoses or their equivalent, such as stainless steel or ceramic tubes orpipes, or rubber hoses.
 15. The apparatus process of claim 9 wherein theprimary oxidant entrance end is also adapted to allow oxygen to enterand mix with the primary oxidant, and wherein the one or more manifoldscomprises an upper fuel manifold adapted to direct fuel downward into aflow path of the mixture of oxygen and primary oxidant, and a lower fuelmanifold adapted to direct fuel upward into the path.
 16. The apparatusof claim 9 comprising a controller adapted to control flame temperatureof flame emanating from the flame exit end by monitoring one or moreparameters selected from velocity of the fuel, velocity of the primaryoxidant, mass flow rate of the fuel, mass flow rate of the primaryoxidant, energy content of the fuel, temperature of the fuel as itenters the burner, temperature of the primary oxidant as it enters theburner, pressure of the oxidant entering the burner, humidity of theprimary oxidant, burner geometry, oxidation ratio, and combinationsthereof.
 17. An apparatus comprising: a plurality of oxygen conduits ina first horizontal plane having inlet ends and outlet ends, the inletends fluidly connected to a source of oxygen, and the outlet endsfluidly connected to an entrance to a refractory slot; a plurality offuel conduits in a second horizontal plane and substantially parallelthereto, the plurality of fuel conduits having inlet ends and outletends, the inlet ends fluidly connected to a source of fuel, and theoutlet ends fluidly connected to the entrance to the refractory slot;wherein the refractory slot defines a recess wherein the ends of theoxygen conduits and the ends of the fuel conduits are recessed from anexit of the refractory chute, and the plurality of oxygen conduits andthe plurality of fuel conduits are adapted to disperse the fuel and theoxygen uniformly and begin combusting the fuel in the refractory slot,the refractory slot adapted to direct a flame toward primary fibers tobe fiberized.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein a ratio of number ofoxygen conduits to fuel conduits ranges from about 1 to about
 5. 19. Theapparatus of claim 17 wherein all of the oxygen conduits are circular incross-section and have the same diameter, and wherein all of the fuelconduits are circular in cross-section and have the same diameter. 20.The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the oxygen conduits are all equal inlength, and all fuel conduits are equal in length.
 21. The apparatus ofclaim 17 wherein the recess defined by the refractory slot has a widthW, a depth D, and a height H within the following ranges: W/H rangesfrom about 10 to about 100; W/D ranges from about 4 to about 12; andwherein a ratio of length of oxygen conduits and fuel conduits to depthof recess D ranges from about 5 to about
 10. 22. The apparatus of claim17 comprising a controller adapted to control combustion temperature bymonitoring one or more parameters selected from velocity of the fuel,velocity of the primary oxidant, mass flow rate of the fuel, mass flowrate of the primary oxidant, energy content of the fuel, temperature ofthe fuel as it enters the burner, temperature of the primary oxidant asit enters the burner, pressure of the oxidant entering the burner,humidity of the primary oxidant, burner geometry, oxidation ratio, andcombinations thereof.
 23. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the secondhorizontal plane lies below the first horizontal plane.
 24. A processcomprising: a) providing a supply of a primary oxidant fluid stream to arefractory burner block; b) providing a supply of a fuel fluid stream tothe burner block; c) mixing the primary oxidant with the fuel to form anintermediate mixture, the intermediate mixture flowing into a combustionchamber defined by the burner block; d) injecting an oxygen stream intothe intermediate mixture to form a combustion mixture; e) combusting thefuel fluid in the combustion chamber to form a flame; f) forcing theflame through a slot exit from the refractory burner block to form asubstantially flat flame; g) directing the substantially flat flame tointersect a primary fiber; and h) attenuating and fiberizing the primaryfiber to form a plurality of fibers.
 25. The process of claim 24 whereinthe primary oxidant is air, the fuel is a gaseous fuel, the gaseous fuelselected from methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane,carbon monoxide, hydrogen, steam-reformed natural gas, atomized oil ormixtures thereof, and the oxygen stream comprises at least 90 molepercent oxygen.
 26. The process of claim 24 selected from processeswherein the oxygen is injected into the intermediate mixture upstream ofthe combustion chamber, and processes wherein the oxygen is injectedinto the combustion chamber.
 27. The process of claim 24 wherein theoxygen is injected through a manifold selected from a non-cooledmanifold, a gas-cooled manifold, and a liquid-cooled manifold.
 28. Theprocess of claim 24 wherein the oxygen injection velocity is 200 ft/secor less at a flow rates of 400 scfh or less.
 29. The process of claim 24wherein the combustion chamber pressure does not exceed 10 psig.
 30. Theprocess of claim 24 comprising controlling flame temperature bymonitoring one or more parameters selected from velocity of the fuel,velocity of the primary oxidant, mass flow rate of the fuel, mass flowrate of the primary oxidant, energy content of the fuel, temperature ofthe fuel as it enters the burner, temperature of the primary oxidant asit enters the burner, pressure of the oxidant entering the burner,humidity of the oxidant, burner geometry, oxidation ratio, andcombinations thereof.
 31. A process comprising: a) providing a supply ofa primary oxidant fluid stream to a refractory burner block; b)providing a supply of oxygen fluid stream to the burner block; c) mixingthe primary oxidant with the oxygen to form an intermediate mixture, theintermediate mixture flowing to a combustion chamber defined by theburner block; d) injecting a fuel fluid stream into the intermediatemixture to form a combustion mixture; e) combusting the fuel fluid inthe combustion chamber to form a flame; f) forcing the flame through aslot exit from the refractory burner block to form a substantially flatflame; g) directing the substantially flat flame to intersect a primaryfiber; and h) attenuating and fiberizing the primary fiber to form aplurality of fibers.
 32. The process of claim 31 wherein the primaryoxidant is air, the fuel is a gaseous fuel, the gaseous fuel is selectedfrom methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, steam-reformed natural gas, atomized oil or mixturesthereof, and the oxygen stream comprises at least 90 mole percentoxygen.
 33. The process of claim 31 comprising injecting fuel into theintermediate mixture upstream of the combustion chamber.
 34. The processof claim 31 comprising injecting the fuel into the combustion chamber.35. The process of claim 31 wherein the he fuel is injected through amanifold selected from a non-cooled manifold, a gas-cooled manifold, anda liquid-cooled manifold.
 36. The process of claim 31 wherein thecombustion chamber pressure does not exceed 10 psig.
 37. The process ofclaim 31 comprising controlling flame temperature by monitoring one ormore parameters selected from velocity of the fuel, velocity of theprimary oxidant, mass flow rate of the fuel, mass flow rate of theprimary oxidant, energy content of the fuel, temperature of the fuel asit enters the burner, temperature of the primary oxidant as it entersthe burner, pressure of the oxidant entering the burner, humidity of theoxidant, burner geometry, oxidation ratio, and combinations thereof, andemploys a control algorithm to control combustion temperature based onone or more of these input parameters.
 38. A process comprising: a)flowing oxygen through a plurality of oxygen conduits in a firsthorizontal plane having inlet ends and outlet ends, the inlet endsfluidly connected to a source of oxygen, and the outlet ends fluidlyconnected to an entrance to a refractory slot; b) flowing a fuel fluidthrough a plurality of fuel conduits in a second horizontal plane andsubstantially parallel thereto, the plurality of fuel conduits havinginlet ends and outlet ends, the inlet ends fluidly connected to a sourceof fuel, and the outlet ends fluidly connected to the entrance to therefractory slot; c) combusting the fuel in the refractory slot to form asubstantially flat flame, the refractory slot defining a recess whereinthe ends of the oxygen conduits and the ends of the fuel conduits arerecessed from an exit of the refractory slot, the plurality of oxygenconduits and the plurality of fuel conduits dispersing the fuel and theoxygen uniformly in the recess; d) directing the substantially flatflame to intersect a primary fiber; and e) attenuating and fiberizingthe primary fiber to form a plurality of fibers.
 39. The process ofclaim 38 wherein the fuel is a gaseous fuel, the gaseous fuel isselected from methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane,carbon monoxide, hydrogen, steam-reformed natural gas, atomized oil ormixtures thereof, and the oxygen stream comprises at least 90 molepercent oxygen.
 40. The process of claim 38 comprising controlling flametemperature by monitoring one or more parameters selected from velocityof the fuel, velocity of the oxygen, mass flow rate of the fuel, massflow rate of the oxygen, energy content of the fuel, temperature of thefuel as it enters the burner, temperature of the oxygen as it enters theburner, pressure of the oxygen entering the burner, humidity of theoxygen, burner geometry, oxidation ratio, and combinations thereof, andemploys a control algorithm to control combustion temperature based onone or more of these input parameters.